About Beans… Dried beans are the workhorses of our pantries.  They are high in protein, low in fat, low in cholesterol, and high in complex carbohydrates (the “good” carbs), too. With so many people making the shift to plant-based diets, beans are taking on a bigg

The only thing better than farm-to-fork is garden-to-fork. Little compares to picking your own sweet ripe tomato and pinching off basil leaves for a homemade lunchtime caprese salad. Or, harvesting squash, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, and onions to make a delicious caponata This year,

Backyard fruit is the talk of the town right now – or maybe talk of the garden. Gardeners are worried about trees that have yet to leaf out or bloom, about grapes that don’t seem to be developing, about leaves that look misshapen, and more. Most of these concerns are a lot to do about

— Nan Sterman What if you could grow most of your family’s vegetables and protein in your own backyard and do it with just a fraction of the water and resources that your in-ground garden requires? According to the people you’ll meet in this week’s episode of A Growing Passion,

— Nan Sterman Seeds fascinate me. They look like little pieces of dead wood. But bury them in soil or potting soil, add water, set them where the temperature is just right, and they sprout. Care for them and they grow into plants, many of which we eat. Have you ever seen a tomat

— Nan Sterman With tomatoes ripening now, it’s a great time to taste test the many different types, learn their best uses, and  decide which to grow next summer. Here’s a tutorial. Tomato types Slicing (Beefsteak) tomatoes produce very large, often crenulated fruits,

— Nan Sterman Take a deep breath in the garden. What do you smell? If you grow citrus, chances are you’re smelling one of the headiest, most intoxicating fragrances imaginable. This is the time of year when backyard citrus erupt in small, fragrant white flowers that will become

— by Nan Sterman You might wonder if the drought means the end of home grown fruits. Thankfully, it doesn’t. There are many kinds of fruiting trees, shrubs and even succulents that produce lots of fruits with little, if any, irrigation once the plants are established. Here are t

A Gardener’s Tale by Marianne Gerdes The brand new raised bed garden that Camera Guy built for our family has succeeded beyond our wildest expectations.  Tomatoes tower over our heads, cucumbers climb trellises growing up instead of out and, we’ve learned about a whole new

— Nan Sterman When it comes to vegetable gardening, we spend so much time and effort starting seeds, planting seedlings, fertilizing, watering and hovering over our plants. When are the fruits of our labor ready to pick? Here are some general guidelines for knowing when and how